System and method for providing a rewards program based on electronic acquisition of a displayed dynamic mark

ABSTRACT

Systems ( 100 ) and methods ( 2000 ) for providing a rewards program. The method involves presenting a Digital Dynamic Mark (“DDM”) to a viewer that comprises a sequence of Active Image Patterns (“AIPs”). Each AIP exclusively comprises First Pattern Regions (“FPRs”) for encoding symbols. At least two FPRs are rendered with at least one color other than a defined background color for the image pattern. The FPRs are arranged in a non-grid like pattern. Each FPR has a non-square shape with a single side boundary line directly abutting a single side boundary line of at least one other FPR. Information is received which indicates that the viewer captured an image of the DDM using a computing device thereof. Reward points are awarded to the viewer for capturing the image of the DDM. The reward points are redeemable by the viewer for one or more redemption items.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/287,356 filed May 27, 2014 and InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/US2014/039508 filed on May 27, 2014, whichboth claim the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/976,043 filed Apr. 7, 2014.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Statement of the Technical Field

The inventive arrangements relate to systems and methods for providing arewards program for entertainment consumers. More particularly, theinvention concerns systems and methods for providing a rewards programbased on electronic acquisitions of displayed dynamic marks.

2. Description of the Related Art

Due to the technical complexities involved, the convergence of digitalmedia as displayed on a TV, or a video screen, and a wireless smartdevice such as a smartphone, has been virtually non-existent. Althoughthere have been attempts to connect the two mediums each have their ownserious limitations, and are simply not ideal, or practical. Thelimitations for optical based systems include, but are not limited to,requiring a very short distance from the video display to captureinformation, ambient light in the room in which the video display isbeing viewed can render the receiver unusable, variations in the videodisplay output can render the receiver unusable, and the time it takesfor the receiver to actually capture the information. Because of these,and other unreliable limitations, the user is likely to get frustratedand simply give up.

The limitations for Audio based systems include but are not limited to,the volume level and proximity to the audio transmitter, the quality ofthe audio output, background noise such as talking, music, or othersounds which can interfere with the receiver, and the time it takes forthe receiver to actually capture the information. Because of these, andother unreliable limitations, the user is likely to get frustrated andsimply give up.

A need has therefore been recognized in the art to provide a reliableand robust solution to the problem. The system preferably facilitatesthe convergence of video displayed information directly, quickly, andwirelessly, to all of the currently available, and future smart devicessuch as smartphones, tablets, wearable's such as watches, glasses andothers not yet known to the market. Further, the solution should includea method for advertisers to engage their customers and maximize theresponse to their commercials by enabling viewers to acquire digitalcoupons and other incentive offers associated with the video broadcastcommercial. There is also a need to provide new and different backendsolutions for utilizing these devices and methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns systems and methods for providing arewards program. The methods involving presenting a video comprising aDigital Dynamic Mark (“DDM”) to a first viewer; receiving informationindicating that the first viewer captured an image of the DDM using acomputing device thereof; and awarding reward points to the first viewerfor capturing the image of the DDM, where the reward points areredeemable by the first viewer for at least one of a plurality ofredemption items. Reward points may also be awarded to each of aplurality of individuals for registering with the rewards program. Inthis case, at least a first individual may be a follower of at least asecond individual on a social media site.

The DDM comprises a sequence of active image patterns. Each active imagepattern exclusively comprises a plurality of first pattern regions forencoding symbols. At least two of the first pattern regions are renderedwith at least one color (e.g., red, green and/or blue) other than adefined background color for the image pattern. The first patternregions are arranged in a non-grid like pattern. Each first patternregion has a non-square shape (e.g., a rectangular or triangular shape)with a single side boundary line directly abutting a single sideboundary line of at least one other first pattern region, whereby nospacing is provided between adjacent ones of the first pattern regions.At least two of the first pattern regions has the same or differentshapes.

In some scenarios, the sequence of first active image patterns isappended to an end of a sequence of second active image patterns. Eachsecond active image pattern indicates which symbol of a plurality ofsymbols is represented by a particular active image pattern that maypossibly be contained in a customer-specific portion of any one of aplurality of DDMs. An inactive image pattern is appended to an end of asequence of first active image patterns. The inactive image patterncomprises a plurality of second pattern regions all rendered with thedefined background color or black. The sequences of first active imagepatterns, the sequence of second active image patterns and the inactiveimage pattern are then sequentially displayed along with or as a video.

The present disclosure also concerns systems and methods for using a DDMto obtain reward points. The methods involve: capturing a DDM beingpresenting along with or as a video using a video camera of a computingdevice; decoding by the computing device the DDM to obtain a sequence ofdecoded symbols; and communicating the sequence of decoded symbols fromthe computing device to a remote computing device. At the remotecomputing device, at least one first reward point is awarded to anindividual associated with the computing device for capturing the DDMusing the video camera. At least one second point may have beenpreviously awarded to the individual in response to the individual'sregistration with a rewards program. At least one third reward pointsmay have also been awarded to a follower of the individual on a socialmedia site for the follower's registration with the rewards program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawingfigures, in which like numerals represent like items throughout thefigures, and in which:

FIG. 1 provides a schematic illustration of an exemplary system that isuseful for understanding the present invention.

FIG. 2 provides a schematic illustration of an exemplary server/databasearchitecture.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary architecture for themobile communication device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary architecture for thecomputing device shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5A-5B collectively provide a flow diagram that is useful forunderstanding the operation of the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary graphical userinterface for creating and managing a user profile.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration useful for understanding operationsperformed by a video content owner within the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration that is useful for understanding anexemplary architecture of a DDM.

FIGS. 9-12 provide schematic illustrations that are useful forunderstanding contents of a DDM.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration that is useful for understanding howa DDM can be presented along with a video.

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of another architecture for a DDM.

FIG. 15 is a schematic illustration showing a mobile communicationdevice receiving and decoding data acquired from a DDM presented alongwith a video.

FIG. 16 is a schematic illustration showing a mobile communicationsdevice transmitting decoded information acquired from a DDM to a dataprocessing center of a mark provider.

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of a mobile communications devicereceiving selectable content from a data processing center of a markprovider.

FIG. 18 is a schematic illustration showing an exemplary process forpurchasing an item using content (e.g., a coupon/promotional offers)obtained as a result of capturing a DDM displayed in conjunction with avideo.

FIG. 19 is a schematic illustration showing an exemplary process forselecting and downloading digital coupons/offers to a shopping softwareapplication running on a mobile communications device.

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for providing a rewardsprogram to viewers of DDMs.

FIG. 21 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary referral plan.

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for providing areferral plan in which points are awarded to account owners andfollowers thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments asgenerally described herein and illustrated in the appended figures couldbe arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.Thus, the following more detailed description of various embodiments, asrepresented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure, but is merely representative of various embodiments.While the various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings,the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specificallyindicated.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative. Thescope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims.All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency ofthe claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, orsimilar language does not imply that all of the features and advantagesthat may be realized with the present invention should be or are in anysingle embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to thefeatures and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature,advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus,discussions of the features and advantages, and similar language,throughout the specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to thesame embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages and characteristics ofthe invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, in light ofthe description herein, that the invention can be practiced without oneor more of the specific features or advantages of a particularembodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages maybe recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in allembodiments of the invention.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment”, or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the indicatedembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the presentinvention. Thus, the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”,and similar language throughout this specification may, but do notnecessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

As used in this document, the singular form “a”, “an”, and “the” includeplural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unlessdefined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart. As used in this document, the term “comprising” means “including,but not limited to”.

Overview

The present invention concerns systems and methods for providing arewards program for entertainment consumers based on electronicacquisitions of displayed dynamic marks. Each dynamic mark comprises adynamic code that may make up a video clip and/or be embedded or layeredwithin or on top of a video. The dynamic code will be described indetail below. Still, it should be appreciated that the dynamic code is anovel code which overcomes various drawbacks of conventional matrixcodes (e.g., QR codes) used in conjunction with the video. For example,conventional QR codes require positioning symbols. The dynamic code doesnot require such positioning symbols, and thus is a more efficient code.Also, conventional QR codes are two tone codes (i.e., black and whitecodes). In contrast, the dynamic code of the present invention employsmore than two tones (e.g., black, red, green, and blue). As such, whenusing the same resolution on a reader device, the dynamic code canspecify a greater amount of total possible information as compared toconventional QR codes.

Additionally, QR codes suffer from data loss as a result of “bleeding”of encoded data points at least partially because of their squareshapes, relatively small sizes, and strict grid structure in which eachsquare falls within only one cell of a grid. In contrast, the dynamiccode of the present invention does not suffer from such “bleeding” sincethe pattern regions have non-square shapes (e.g., circular shapes,rectangular shapes or arbitrary shapes selected in accordance with aparticular application), relatively large sizes, and a non-gridstructure (i.e., each pattern region does not fall exclusively within asingle cell of a grid, rather overlaps multiple cells of a grid).

Furthermore, the QR codes and other conventional codes are absent of amechanism for preventing (a) channel noise, (b) different lightingvariations, color variations and color distortions of a plurality ofdisplay screens, and (c) variations in the optical characteristics ofdifferent image/video capturing devices from causing errors in asubsequent decoding process. The dynamic code of the present inventionadvantageously includes such a mechanism, namely a code book portion.The code book portion will be described in detail below. Still, itshould be understood that the code book portion of the present inventiongenerally comprises a sequence of color coded image patterns definingwhat symbol of a plurality of symbols (e.g., digits 0-5) each possiblepattern in a subsequent customer-specific portion of the dynamic coderepresents. The code book portion provides reference image patterns towhich the image patterns of the customer-specific portion can becompared for purposes of determining the sequence of symbols representedthereby. Accordingly, the code book portion provides a dynamiccalibration system for each individual display screen and itssurrounding environment. Thus, the code book portion ensures that themessage delivery technique of the present invention functions properlyregardless of the particular display screen on which the dynamic code isdisplayed and/or the surrounding environment in which the display screenresides.

Dynamic Mark Generating And Displaying System

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is provided a schematic illustration ofan exemplary system 100 that is useful for understanding the presentinvention. System 100 comprises a Mark Generator (“MG”) facility 154, aVideo/Mark Distributor (“VMD”) facility 152, and a viewer facility 150.At the MG facility 154, a DDM 112 is generated based on informationprovided by a Video Content Owner (“VCO”) 162 or a live broadcast ownerlocated in the VMD facility 152. Thereafter, the DDM 112 is presented toa viewer 160 on a display screen 110 located in the viewer's facility150. The DDM 112 may be displayed in the form of a video clip. The DDMvideo clip may be displayed along with a video or form part of thevideo. In this regard, the DDM 112 may be embedded in or layered on topof the video which is owned by the VCO 162, as will be described furtherbelow. The video and mark may be distributed to viewers by the VCO 162and/or another entity (e.g., a television station).

The VMD facility 152 is shown as comprising both the VCO's facility(e.g., a commercial owner) and a video distributor facility (e.g., atelevision station). Embodiments of the present invention are notlimited in this regard. Two or more separate and distinct facilities canbe provided for the VCO and/or the video distributor.

Also, the MGF 154 is shown as comprising at least one server 114 and atleast one database 116. In some scenarios, the MGF 154 comprises aplurality of web servers 202, a plurality of application servers 204,and/or a plurality of databases 206 as shown in FIG. 2. The presentinvention is not limited in this regard. Any server/databasearchitecture can be employed herein without limitation.

The operation of system 100 will now be described with reference toFIGS. 1-18. As shown by step 502 of FIG. 5, the operations begin whenthe VCO 162 launches a web-based software application installed on acomputing device 106 located in the VMD facility 152. The computingdevice 106 includes, but is not limited to, a desktop computer, apersonal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, atable computer or a smart device. Each of the listed devices is wellknown in the art, and therefore will not be described herein.

As a consequence of launching the web-based software application, theVCO 162 is presented with an application window in which (s)he cancreate and/or manage a user profile, as shown by step 504 of FIG. 5. Aschematic illustration of an exemplary architecture for the applicationwindow is provided in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, a form is presented inthe application window whereby the VCO 162 is prompted to enter certaincustomer-specific information (e.g., identification information, contactinformation (e.g., primary address, secondary address), etc. . . . ) forcreating a customer profile.

Upon completing the form, step 506 is performed in which the inputinformation is securely communicated from the computing device 106 to aserver 114 of the MG facility 154 via a network 104 (e.g., theInternet). This secure communication can be achieved using cryptographictechnologies, virtual network technologies and/or secure DNS servertechnologies. At server 114, the VCO 162 is issued a customer code (oraccount number) 602 by a software application running on a server 114 ofthe MG facility 154, as shown by step 508 of FIG. 5. The customer code602 can be a numeric code (e.g., “12”), an alpha numeric code, or analphabetic code.

Thereafter in step 510, the VCO 162 uses the software application toobtain a DDM 112, which is unique for a particular video owned thereby.In this regard, the VCO 162 logs into a web based mark generationservice via a web browser. Once logged into the web based markgeneration service, the VCO 162 is prompted to input additionalinformation that can be used by server 114 to generate the unique DDM112. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the VCO 162 performs user-softwareoperations to specify a commercial series 604 (e.g., “3”) and acommercial number 606 (e.g., “4”) within the series for which the DDM112 is to be generated. The VCO 162 may also select events (e.g.,redirect to URL, send offer, or make purchase) which should occur as aresult of the acquisition of the DDM 112 by a viewer of thecorresponding video using a Mobile Communication Device (“MCD”) 102thereof. Notably, these events can be changed at any time by the VCO162, and therefore resulting actions from acquiring the DDM can bestatic or variable over a given period of time. This additionalinformation is then securely communicated from the computing device 106to a server 114 of the MG facility 154 via a network 104 (e.g., theInternet). In response to the reception of the additional information,the server 114 performs operations to create or generate the DDM 112.The DDM 112 is then sent from the server 114 to the computing device106.

The DDM 112 comprises a sequence of image patterns. Schematicillustrations of exemplary architectures for the DDM are provided inFIGS. 8-12. As shown in FIG. 8, an exemplary DDM image pattern 800comprises a plurality of pattern regions 802-816 arranged relative toeach other so as to form a square shaped image. Each pattern region802-816 has a generally rectangular shape. The present invention is notlimited in this regard. The DDM image pattern 800 can include anyoverall shape selected in accordance with a particular application.Also, the pattern regions can have any arbitrary shapes selected inaccordance with the desired overall shape of the DDM image pattern 800.For example, a DDM image pattern 1400 is designed to have an overallstar shape as shown in FIG. 14 with eight data pattern regions1402-1416. In this case, some of the pattern regions have shapesdifferent from or the same as at least one other data pattern region.More specifically, data regions 1402-1410 have the same shapes. Dataregions 1414 and 1416 have the same shapes. Data regions 1412-1416 havedifferent shapes as compared to data regions 1402-1410. This designflexibility of the DDM image pattern allows the DDM to have imagepatterns with shapes conformed to one or more design marks of a customer(e.g., a star shaped design mark as shown in FIG. 14).

The color pattern of the pattern region 802-816 specifies which symbolof a plurality of symbols is represented by the image pattern 800.Different combinations of the three colors Red (“R”), Green (“G”) andBlue (“Blue”) define a numeric (e.g., heximal) system. However, thepresent invention is not restricted to any specific numeral system. Eachsymbol in the numeric system is determined by two colors. Thecorrespondence between color combinations and symbols is called a “codebook”. Although there are twenty-eight different pairs of patternregions in FIG. 8 that can be used to signal a symbol, only thefollowing four pairs are considered for illustration purpose: 802, 804;806, 808; 810, 812; and 814, 816.

As shown in FIG. 8, an assumption is made that the symbols include ninedigits 0-8. A symbol 0 is represented by an image pattern with twopattern regions 802, 804 appearing in red and all remaining patternregions 806-816 appearing in a background color (e.g., white or a lightyellow). A symbol 1 is represented by an image pattern with a patternregion 802 appearing in red, a pattern region 804 appearing in green,and all remaining pattern regions 806-816 appearing in a backgroundcolor (e.g., white or light yellow). A symbol 2 is represented by animage pattern with a pattern region 806 appearing in red, a patternregion 808 appearing in blue, and all remaining pattern regions 802,804, 810-816 appearing in a background color (e.g., white or a lightyellow). A symbol 3 is represented by an image pattern with patternregions 810, 812 appearing in green, and all remaining pattern regions802-808, 814, 816 appearing in a background color (e.g., white or alight yellow). A symbol 4 is represented by an image pattern with apattern region 814 appearing in green, a pattern region 816 appearing inblue, and all remaining pattern regions 802-812 appearing in abackground color (e.g., white or a light yellow). A symbol 5 isrepresented by an image pattern with pattern regions 802, 804 appearingin blue, and all remaining pattern regions 806-816 appearing in abackground color (e.g., white or a light yellow). A symbol 6 isrepresented by an image pattern with a pattern region 806 appearing ingreen, a pattern region 808 appearing in red, and all remaining patternregions 802, 804, 810-816 appearing in a background color (e.g., whiteor a light yellow). A symbol 7 is represented by an image pattern with apattern region 810 appearing in blue, a pattern region 812 appearing inred, and all remaining pattern regions 802-808, 814, 816 appearing in abackground color (e.g., white or a light yellow). A symbol 8 isrepresented by an image pattern with a pattern region 814 appearing inblue, a pattern region 816 appearing in green, and all remaining patternregions 802-812 appearing in a background color (e.g., white or a lightyellow). An image pattern representing no symbol comprises patternregions 802-816 appearing in black. The present invention is not limitedto the particulars of this example. Any type of symbols and/or colorpattern can be employed without limitation.

Notably, an image pattern representing a symbol is referred to herein asan active image pattern. In contrast, an image pattern that does notrepresent a symbol (i.e., all pattern regions are black) is referred toherein as an inactive image pattern. In some scenarios, the activatedpairs of pattern regions repeatedly follow the sequence 802/804,806/808, 810/812, 814/816. In this way, a message is transmitted by asequence of active image patterns. The variation of colors in activeregions encodes the message being sent. The start of a message can bedetected as the first active image pattern following an inactive imagepattern, while an inactive image pattern following an active imagepattern indicates the end of a message. The encoding of a message is notrestricted to the variations of colors. Variations of the locations ofactive regions can also be used to increase the amount of informationrepresented by a single image pattern.

Each active image pattern consists of background pixels with one colortone (e.g., white, light yellow or black) and at least two activeregions with different color tones (e.g., R/R, R/G, R/B, G/G, G/R, G/B,B/B, B/R, B/G). An inactive image pattern consists of background pixelswith the same or different color tone as the background pixels of anactive image pattern (e.g., white, light yellow or black). Connectivityamong background pixels is enforced in the design of image patterns. Inparticular, all background pixels are completely d-connected in eachimage pattern, which is defined as the following: given any twobackground pixels at locations x and y, respectively, there exists aconnected path on the image such that a ball with diameter d (d>=1pixel) can be moved from x and y following the path and without touchingany of the active regions on the image. Either 4-connectivity or8-connectivity can be used in defining the connected path.

The above connectivity requirement makes the invented image patternfamily distinctive from QR codes, Mcodes, Semacodes and JagTags. Thed-connectivity of background pixels is important in controlling the“bleeding” effect among active regions when the pattern is captured by areader (e.g., a smart device with a video camera). Increasing the dvalue reduces the “bleeding” effect which in turn increases the distanceat which the reader is able to correctly decode the image pattern. Inthe present case, when the size of the image pattern is just one tenthof a video display, the reader can correctly decode the image patterncaptured from the video display at more than six times the height of thescreen away from the reader, which is a relatively large distancecompared to that of conventional embedded code systems (e.g., QR codebased systems).

Referring now to FIGS. 9-12, there is provided schematic illustrationsuseful for understanding a sequence of image patterns comprising anexemplary DDM 900. The DDM 900 is defined by a code book portion 902, acustomer-specific portion 904, and an end designator portion 906. Thecode book portion 902 comprises a sequence of color coded image patterns1002-1018. The image patterns 1002-1018 provide reference image patternsthat can be used for decoding an image pattern of the customer-specificportion 904. In this regard, each image pattern 1002-1018 comprises areference pattern for a symbol of a plurality of possible symbols (e.g.,0-8) that can be represented by each image pattern of thecustomer-specific portion 904.

The code book portion 902 is contained in the DDM 900 for purposes ofpreventing (a) channel noise, (b) different lighting variations, colorvariations and color distortions of a plurality of display screens, and(c) variations in the optical characteristics of different image/videocapturing devices from causing errors in a subsequent decoding process(which will be described below). Notably, inclusion of the code bookportion 902 in the DDM 900 advantageously eliminates any requirement fora viewer's MCD to have pre-set parameters for detecting the imagepatterns and corresponding symbols. In this regard, it should beunderstood that the code book portion provides reference image patternsto which the image patterns of the customer-specific portion 904 can becompared for purposes of determining the sequence of symbols representedthereby. Accordingly, the code book portion 902 provides a dynamiccalibration system for each individual display screen and itssurrounding environment. Thus, the code book portion 902 ensures thatthe DDM based message delivery technique functions properly regardlessof the particular display screen on which the DDM is displayed and/orthe surrounding environment in which the display screen resides.

The customer-specific portion 904 is then appended to the end of thecode book portion 902. The customer-specific portion 904 is created insome scenarios based on the customer code 702, the commercial series 704and the commercial number 706. In other scenarios, the customer-specificportion 904 is created based on other criteria (e.g., business entitycode, facility identification number, and/or machine/electronic deviceidentification number) selected in accordance with a particularapplication. The customer-specific portion 904 comprises a sequence ofcolor coded image patterns 1102-1108. Each image pattern represents arespective portion of the sequence of symbols (e.g., digits “1234”). Forexample, first and second image patterns 1102, 1104 collectivelyrepresent the customer code 702 (e.g., digits “12”). A third imagepattern 1106 represents the commercial series 704 (e.g., digit “3”). Afourth image pattern 1108 represents a commercial number 706 (e.g.,digit “4”). The present invention is not limited to the particulars ofthis example.

Next, the end designator portion 906 is appended to the end of thecustomer-specific portion 904. The end designator portion 904 comprisesan inactive image pattern (e.g., a solid block pattern). The enddesignator portion 904 provides a means for a decoding device to detectthe end of the DDM 900, and/or the start of a next iterative display ofthe DDM 900. This will become more evident as the discussion progresses.

Referring again to FIG. 5, step 512 is performed once the computingdevice 106 of the VCO 162 has possession of the DDM. In step 512, thevideo and DDM are distributed to a display screen 110 of the viewer 160directly by the VCO 162 or indirectly through another entity (e.g., atelevision station). At the display screen 110, the video is presentedto the viewer 160 along with the DDM 112, as shown by step 514.

In some scenarios, the DDM is embedded in the video (as shown by method1 of FIG. 13) by the VCO 162 or other entity (e.g., an advertisingagency). Alternatively, the DDM is a separate video clip from the video,and thus is presented to the viewer 160 alone or in a picture-in-picturemode (as shown by method 2 of FIG. 13). Picture-in-picture modes arewell known in the art (e.g., multi-vision implementations), andtherefore will not be described herein. Any known or to be knownpicture-in-picture mode can be employed herein without limitation. Apicture-in-picture mode can be employed in both pre-recorded and livebroadcast scenarios. In the picture-in-picture mode scenarios,algorithms in the content owner's video editing program can be employedto ensure that the underlying video does not affect the subsequentdecoding process of the customer-specific portion of the DDM as resultof color changes therein.

Notably, the DDM is presented such that the image patterns of the codebook portion (e.g., code book portion 902 of FIGS. 9-10), customerspecific portion (e.g., customer specific portion 904 of FIGS. 9 and11), and end designator portion (e.g., end designator portion 906 ofFIGS. 9 and 12) are sequentially displayed in the defined order. Forexample, the image pattern 1002 of the code book portion 902 isdisplayed first for a given period of time (e.g., 1 tenths of a second).Next, the image pattern 1004 of the code book portion 902 is displayed,followed by image pattern 1006, and so on. The entire DDM may beiteratively displayed N number of times during presentation of thevideo, where N is an integer value. Each iteration is separated by anend designator or inactive image pattern. As a consequence of thechanging image pattern, simultaneous changes in color and location ofactive regions in the DDM create a visually dynamic mark on the videodisplay which is visible yet not annoying to a viewer 160. The DDM maybe accompanied with text such as “Scan Now” so that the viewer 160 knowswhen to activate and direct the MCD 102 at the DDM for processing.

While the DDM is being displayed, the viewer 160 uses the MCD 102 tocapture the DDM via a video camera 218 thereof, as shown by step 516 ofFIG. 5. In response to such capturing, a decoding application 256installed on the MCD 102 is caused to perform decoding operations, asshown by step 518 of FIG. 5. The decoding operations involve: processingthe video of the captured DDM to extract at least one iteration thereof;processing the extracted iteration to detect each image pattern (e.g.,image patterns 1002-1018 of FIG. 10, 1102-1108 of FIG. 11, 1200 of FIG.12) thereof; processing each image pattern e.g., image patterns1002-1018 of FIG. 10) of the code book portion (e.g., code book portion902 of FIGS. 9 and 10) to determine reference image patterns andcorresponding reference symbols (e.g., 0-8) thereof; and processing eachimage pattern (e.g., image patterns 1102-1108 of FIGS. 9 and 11) of thecustomer-specific portion (e.g., customer specific portion 904 of FIGS.9 and 11) of the DDM to determine the corresponding sequence of symbolsrepresented thereby using the previously determined reference imagepatterns and corresponding reference symbols.

In some scenarios, error detection and correction techniques are used toensure that the correct sequence of symbols represented by thecustomer-specific portion of the DDM is ultimately obtained as a resultof the decoding operations. Error detection and correction techniquesare well known in the art, and therefore will not be described herein.Any known or to be known error detection and correction technique can beused herein without limitation.

Alternatively or additionally, the decoding operations involveperforming pre-processing operations to identify which of a plurality ofDDM iterations has the least amount of error(s). The identified DDMiteration is then selected and used in the decoding process to determinethe corresponding sequence of symbols represented thereby.

Also, in some scenarios, a pattern classifier is employed. The patternclassifier predicts the most likely symbol based on the color content ofa region. The pattern classifier is dynamic in nature. Specifically, thepattern classifier is self-adjusted in each message sequence based onthe received header information, i.e., patterns of the code bookportion. In this way, the system reduces the adverse effect caused byvariations of lighting condition and possible color distortions.

After the MCD 106 determines the symbol sequence (e.g., digits “1234”)represented by the customer-specific portion of the DDM, it forwards thesame to a server 114 of the MG facility 154, as shown by step 520 ofFIG. 5. At the MG facility 154, step 522 is performed where the symbolsequence is processed to determine if it matches one of a plurality ofsymbol sequences stored in a database 116. If the symbol sequence doesnot match one of the stored symbol sequences [524:NO], then the processends or other processing is performed (e.g., output an indication to theviewer that the captured DDM could not be decoded), as shown by step526. In contrast, if the symbol sequence matches one of the storedsymbol sequences [524:YES], then the server 114 performs operations tocause at least one VCO specified event to occur, as shown by step 528.For example, the server 114 may perform operations such as: query asponsor/offer database (as shown in FIG. 17) for offers/coupons; andtransmit available offers/coupons or other advertisement material in adigital format directly to the MCD 106 or via an electronic message(e.g., a text message, web browser or an electronic mail message). Theoffer/coupon could then be saved in a shopping application residing onthe MCD and then used at a Point Of Sale (“POS”). In this case, a codecontained in the coupon can be obtained by a barcode reader or othershort range communication device (such as a Near Field Communicationdevice) of the POS for redemption. Additionally or alternatively, theserver 114 may perform operations to send a given URL to a web browser252 of the MCD 106, whereby the viewer 160 is shown particular webcontent specified by the VCO. The web content can include an interfacein which the viewer 160 can select at least one option from a pluralityof options (e.g., a web page from which one or more items can bepurchased, or from which a coupon/offer may obtained or forwarded to afriend). In this case, the MCD 106 may communicate to the server 114information specifying the viewer's selection of the option. In responseto the reception of this information, the server 114 completes theprocess. Additionally or alternatively, rewards points can be awarded tothe owner of the MCD as described below.

FIG. 15 provides another schematic illustration of operations performedin accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 15, an optical flowapproach and image segmentation is performed in real time to processeach video frame to identify a region of the video image containing theDDM. As such, a viewer 1502 captures a DDM 1504 displayed on a displaydevice 1506 along with a video. The DDM is captured using a video cameraof a smart device 1508. The smart device 1508 has a code reader. Thecode reader may be implemented as hardware and/or software. In thesoftware scenarios, a code reader/decoding software application isinstalled on the smart device 1508. This software application enablesthe smart device 1508 to perform various operations shown by functionalblocks 1510-1518: segment image patterns from a captured video;recognize one or more image patterns from a captured video; perform anynecessary error correction; decode the message (i.e., determine whichsymbol of a plurality of symbols is represented by each image pattern ofa sequence of image patterns; perform any necessary error correction);and transmit the decoded message (e.g., a sequence of symbols) to a dataprocessing center 1520. The decoded message may be transmitted to thedata processing center using any known or to be known communicationstechnology (such as WiFi based technology, cell tower based technology,and/or cable modem based technology as shown in FIG. 16). At the dataprocessing center 1520, the decoded message is processed to determine ifany action should be taken, such as provide a coupon or otherinformation to the viewer 1502 as shown in FIG. 17. In some scenarios,the viewer 1502 may be prompted to respond to a message sent to thesmart device 1508 in response to the decoded message. For example, asshown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the action comprises a shopping based actionfor facilitating online shopping by the viewer 1502.

MCD Architecture

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is provided a schematic illustration ofan exemplary architecture for the MCD 102. MCD 102 may include more orless components than those shown in FIG. 3. However, the componentsshown are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment implementingthe present invention. Some or all of the components of the MCD 102 canbe implemented in hardware, software and/or a combination of hardwareand software. The hardware includes, but is not limited to, one or moreelectronic circuits.

As noted above, MCD 102 can include, but is not limited to, a notebookcomputer, a personal digital assistant, a cellular phone or a mobilephone with smart device functionality (e.g., a Smartphone). In thisregard, the MCD 102 comprises an antenna 302 for receiving andtransmitting Radio Frequency (“RF”) signals. A receive/transmit(“Rx/Tx”) switch 304 selectively couples the antenna 302 to thetransmitter circuitry 306 and the receiver circuitry 308 in a mannerfamiliar to those skilled in the art. The receiver circuitry 308demodulates and decodes the RF signals received from an external device.The receiver circuitry 308 is coupled to a controller (ormicroprocessor) 310 via an electrical connection 334. The receivercircuitry 308 provides the decoded signal information to the controller310. The controller 310 uses the decoded RF signal information inaccordance with the function(s) of the MCD 102. The controller 310 alsoprovides information to the transmitter circuitry 306 for encoding andmodulating information into RF signals. Accordingly, the controller 310is coupled to the transmitter circuitry 306 via an electrical connection338. The transmitter circuitry 306 communicates the RF signals to theantenna 302 for transmission to an external device via the Rx/Tx switch304.

MCD 102 also comprises an antenna 340 coupled to an SRC transceiver 314for receiving SRC signals. SRC transceivers are well known in the art,and therefore will not be described in detail herein. However, it shouldbe understood that the SRC transceiver 314 processes the SRC signals toextract information therefrom. The SRC transceiver 314 may process theSRC signals in a manner defined by the SRC application installed on theMCD 102. The SRC application can include, but is not limited to, aCommercial Off the Shelf (“COTS”) application. The SRC transceiver 314is coupled to the controller 310 via an electrical connection 336. Thecontroller uses the extracted information in accordance with thefunction(s) of the MCD 102.

The controller 310 may store received and extracted information inmemory 312 of the MCD 102. Accordingly, the memory 312 is connected toand accessible by the controller 310 through electrical connection 332.The memory 312 may be a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory.For example, memory 312 can include, but is not limited to, a RAM, aDRAM, a ROM and a flash memory. The memory 312 may also compriseunsecure memory and/or secure memory. The memory 312 can be used tostore various other types of data 360 therein, such as authenticationinformation, cryptographic information, location information, andvarious article-related information.

As shown in FIG. 3, one or more sets of instructions 350 are stored inmemory 312. The instructions may include customizable instructions andnon-customizable instructions. The instructions 350 can also reside,completely or at least partially, within the controller 310 duringexecution thereof by MCD 102. In this regard, the memory 312 and thecontroller 310 can constitute machine-readable media. The term“machine-readable media”, as used herein, refers to a single medium ormultiple media that stores one or more sets of instructions 350. Theterm “machine-readable media”, as used here, also refers to any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding or carrying the set of instructions350 for execution by the MCD 102 and that causes the MCD 102 to performone or more of the methodologies of the present disclosure.

The controller 310 is also connected to a user interface 330. The userinterface 330 comprises input devices 316, output devices 324 andsoftware routines (not shown in FIG. 3) configured to allow a user tointeract with and control software applications (e.g., softwareapplications 352, 356 and other software applications) installed on MCD102. Such input and output devices may include, but are not limited to,a display 328, a speaker 326, a keypad 320, a directional pad (not shownin FIG. 3), a directional knob (not shown in FIG. 3), a microphone 322,and a video camera 318. The display 328 may be designed to accept touchscreen inputs. As such, user interface 330 can facilitate a usersoftware interaction for launching applications (e.g., softwareapplications 352, 356 and other software applications) installed on MCD102. The user interface 330 can facilitate a user-software interactivesession for capturing and decoding a DDM (e.g., DDM 112 of FIG. 1).

The display 328, keypad 320, directional pad (not shown in FIG. 3) anddirectional knob (not shown in FIG. 3) can collectively provide a userwith a means to initiate one or more software applications or functionsof MCD 102. The application software 352, 356 can facilitate thecapturing and decoding of a DDM, as well as the communication with aserver 114 located at a remote site.

Exemplary Server Architecture

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is provided a schematic illustration ofan exemplary architecture for the server 114. The server 114 may includemore or less components than those shown in FIG. 4. However, thecomponents shown are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodimentimplementing the present invention. The hardware architecture of FIG. 3represents one embodiment of a representative server configured tofacilitate the provision of DDM based services. As such, the server 114of FIG. 4 implements at least a portion of a method for generating a DDMand providing certain services in response to the reception of the DDMat an MCD. Some or all components of the server 114 can be implementedas hardware, software and/or a combination of hardware and software. Thehardware includes, but is not limited to, one or more electroniccircuits. The electronic circuits can include, but are not limited to,passive components (e.g., resistors and capacitors) and/or activecomponents (e.g., amplifiers and/or microprocessors). The passive and/oractive components can be adapted to, arranged to and/or programmed toperform one or more of the methodologies, procedures, or functionsdescribed herein.

As shown in FIG. 4, the server 114 comprises a user interface 402, aCentral Processing Unit (“CPU”) 406, a system bus 410, a memory 412connected to and accessible by other portions of server 114 throughsystem bus 410, and hardware entities 414 connected to system bus 410.The user interface can include input devices (e.g., a keypad 450, mouse434 and microphone 436) and output devices (e.g., speaker 452, a display454, a vibration device 458 and/or light emitting diodes 356), whichfacilitate user-software interactions for controlling operations of theserver 114.

At least some of the hardware entities 414 perform actions involvingaccess to and use of memory 412, which can be a Random Access Memory(“RAM”), a disk driver and/or a Compact Disc Read Only Memory(“CD-ROM”). The server 114 also comprises a Short Range Communication(“SRC”) unit 432.

Hardware entities 414 can include a disk drive unit 416 comprising acomputer-readable storage medium 418 on which is stored one or more setsof instructions 420 (e.g., software code) configured to implement one ormore of the methodologies, procedures, or functions described herein.The instructions 420 can also reside, completely or at least partially,within the memory 412 and/or within the CPU 406 during execution thereofby the server 114. The memory 412 and the CPU 406 also can constitutemachine-readable media. The term “machine-readable media”, as used here,refers to a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more sets of instructions 420. The term “machine-readablemedia”, as used here, also refers to any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions 420 for execution bythe server 114 and that cause the server 114 to perform any one or moreof the methodologies of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the hardware entities 414include an electronic circuit (e.g., a processor) programmed forfacilitating the provision of DDM based services. In this regard, itshould be understood that the electronic circuit can access and run asoftware application 424 installed on the server 114. The softwareapplication 424 is generally operative to facilitate the creation orgeneration of a DDM, as well as the communication of the DDM to anexternal device. The software application 424 is generally operative tofacilitate the provision of certain events upon receipt of a symbolsequence represented by a DDM captured via an MCD.

Reward Points Program

As noted above, this disclosure also concerns a rewards program forviewers of DDMs, videos having embedded DDMs or other entertainmentassociated with DDMs. By offering reward points to viewers, the viewersare encouraged to scan DDMs and engage with pieces of displayed visualentertainment (e.g., an advertisement, a commercial, a TV show, a movie,etc.) in order to receive reward points. The reward points accumulateover time and can be redeemed for valuable merchandise. In somescenarios, reward points can be redeemed via a website or simply byclicking or touching a virtual redeem button provided by a softwareapplication (e.g., software applications 352, 356 of FIG. 3 and/or othersoftware applications) executing on an MCD (e.g., MCD 102 of FIG. 1).The redemption of the rewards points can be managed by the provider ofthe rewards program, the source of the entertainment, or another party.

Notably, an advertiser (or other source of entertainment) can benefitfrom the rewards program in several ways. For example, when theadvertiser captures a viewer's attention such that the viewer scans aDDM displayed along with an advertisement, the advertiser is able topresent more detailed information relating to the particular productbeing advertised to the viewer. The advertiser is also able to make adirect sale from the advertisement, and collect invaluable analyticaldata on both the advertisement and the viewer.

The cost of the reward points may be built into a per-click fee that theadvertiser pays to the provider of the rewards program (“rewards programprovider). With this structure, the rewards program provider is able tooffer a base number of points for every scan of a DDM. Notably, analgorithm is employed that ensures a pre-specified amount of rewardpoints will be awarded to a viewer who scans a particular DDM once ormultiple times during a certain timeframe. In effect, this algorithmprevents the duplicative allotment of reward points to a viewer whoscans the same DDM multiple times within the given timeframe. Thisalgorithm may additionally or alternatively be configured to preventissuance of duplicative charges to the advertiser when a viewer scansthe same DDM multiple times within the given timeframe.

Referring now to FIG. 20, there is provided a flow diagram of anexemplary method 2000 for providing a rewards program to viewers ofDDMs. As shown in FIG. 20, method 2000 begins with step 2002 andcontinues with step 2004 where a DDM is presented to a viewer (e.g.,viewer 160 of FIG. 1). In some scenarios, the DDM is embedded in thevideo (as shown by method 1 of FIG. 13) by a VCO (e.g., VCO 162 ofFIG. 1) or other entity (e.g., an advertising agency). Alternatively,the DDM is a separate video clip from the video, and thus is presentedto the viewer alone or in a picture-in-picture mode (as shown by method2 of FIG. 13).

Notably, the DDM is presented such that the image patterns of the codebook portion (e.g., code book portion 902 of FIGS. 9-10), customerspecific portion (e.g., customer specific portion 904 of FIGS. 9 and11), and end designator portion (e.g., end designator portion 906 ofFIGS. 9 and 12) are sequentially displayed in the defined order, asdescribed above. The entire DDM may be iteratively displayed N number oftimes during presentation of the video. Each iteration is separated byan end designator or inactive image pattern. The DDM may be accompaniedwith text such as “Scan Now” so that the viewer knows when to activateand direct his(her) MCD (e.g., MCD 102 of FIG. 1) at the DDM forprocessing.

While the DDM is being displayed, the viewer uses the MCD to capture theDDM via a video camera (e.g., video camera 218 of FIG. 2) thereof, asshown by step 2006 of FIG. 20. In response to such capturing, a decodingapplication (e.g., application 256 of FIG. 2) installed on the MCD iscaused to perform decoding operations, as shown by step 2008 of FIG. 20.The decoding operations involve: processing the video of the capturedDDM to extract at least one iteration thereof; processing the extractediteration to detect each image pattern (e.g., image patterns 1002-1018of FIG. 10, 1102-1108 of FIG. 11, 1200 of FIG. 12) thereof; processingeach image pattern (e.g., image patterns 1002-1018 of FIG. 10) of thecode book portion (e.g., code book portion 902 of FIGS. 9 and 10) todetermine reference image patterns and corresponding reference symbols(e.g., 0-8) thereof; and processing each image pattern (e.g., imagepatterns 1102-1108 of FIGS. 9 and 11) of the customer-specific portion(e.g., customer specific portion 904 of FIGS. 9 and 11) of the DDM todetermine the corresponding sequence of symbols represented therebyusing the previously determined reference image patterns andcorresponding reference symbols.

After the MCD determines the symbol sequence (e.g., digits “1234”)represented by the customer-specific portion of the DDM, it forwards thesame to a server (e.g., server 172 of FIG. 1) of a rewards point programprovider or manager, as shown by step 2010. A unique identifier of theMCD and/or an account code may also be sent from the MCD to the serveralong with the symbol sequence. The unique identifier and account codemay subsequently be used to award points to a particular individual oraccount owner.

At the server, step 2012 is performed where the symbol sequence isprocessed to determine if it matches one of a plurality of symbolsequences stored in a database (e.g., database 116 of FIG. 1). If thesymbol sequence does not match one of the stored symbol sequences[2014:NO], then the process ends or other processing is performed (e.g.,output an indication to the viewer that the captured DDM could not bedecoded), as shown by step 2016. In contrast, if the symbol sequencematches one of the stored symbol sequences [2014:YES], then the serverperforms steps 2018 and 2020 to award points to the viewer. Steps2018-2020 involve: accessing a database (e.g., database 174 of FIG. 1)to obtain information specifying the amount of reward points that shouldbe awarded to the viewer as a result of scanning the DDM; and increasingthe number of accumulated reward points associated with the MCD's uniqueidentifier or account code received in previous step 2010 by the amountof reward points specified in the information obtained from thedatabase.

Sometime thereafter, the reward points can be redeemed in optional step2022. Notably, the reward points can be redeemed easily across multipledigital platforms, including via MCDs. The rewards points can beredeemed for cash, gift cards, charitable donations, tangible prizes(e.g., a coffee maker), entertainment related items (e.g., movietickets, concert tickets, etc.), travel related items (e.g., airplanetickets, train tickets, free hotel stays, free meals at popularrestaurants) or other type of redemption options. Subsequently, step2024 is performed where method 2000 ends or other processing isperformed (e.g., return to step 2004).

The rewards points program may also provide for awarding reward pointsbased on a referral plan. For example, a business entity may use thereward points program in order to acquire users with its social mediamarketing program. A schematic illustration of a referral plan isprovided in FIG. 21. As shown in FIG. 21, the referral plan comprisesfour levels: a first level involving an account owner registration andshout out; a second level involving a follower registration and shoutout; a third level involving a grand points contest; and a fourth levelin which the account owners use software applications downloaded totheir MCDs to scan DMMs and accumulate reward points (as describedabove) and/or bonus points.

Many social sites (such as Instagram®) are structured so that theaccount owner has an unlimited number of followers. It is not uncommonfor the account owner to market items to their followers by using whatis known as a shout out, whereby the account owner simply sends out amessage (or advertisement) to all of his(her) followers in order to getthem to respond. Accordingly, the referral plan is shown in FIG. 21 asemploying the Instagram® social site and shout outs. The presentinvention is not limited in this regard. Other social sites can be usedfor purposes of implementing the referral plan.

Referring now to FIG. 22, there is provided an exemplary method 2200 forproviding a referral plan in which points are awarded to account ownersand followers thereof. Method 2200 begins with step 2202 and continueswith step 2204 where a DDM scanning/decoding software application (e.g.,software application 356 of FIG. 3) is downloaded to a first computingdevice (e.g., MCD 102 of FIG. 1) of a first person (e.g., person 160 ofFIG. 1). Thereafter in a next step 2206, the first person performsoperations using the first computing device to register as a firstaccount owner of a reward points program. In response to saidregistration, reward points (e.g., 100 points) are awarded to the firstaccount owner, as shown by step 2208. Next, an advertisement for thereward points program is downloaded to the first computing device instep 2210. The first account owner then issues a shout out in step 2212which sends the advertisement to all of his(her) followers.

In response to the shout out, step 2214 is performed by at least one ofthe first account owner's followers. Step 2214 involves downloading theDDM scanning/decoding software application to a second computing device.The follower then registers himself(herself) as a second account ownerof the reward points program, as shown by step 2216. In a next step2218, reward points are awarded to the first account owner and/or secondaccount owner in response to the second account owner's registration.The advertisement for the reward points program is then downloaded instep 2220 to the second computing device. The second account owner thenissues a shout out in step 2222 which sends the advertisement to all ofhis(her) followers. In response to the shout out(s), other followers ofthe first and/or second account owners may optionally perform steps2214-2222, as shown by optional step 2224.

Upon completing step 2222 or 2224, method 2200 continues with steps2226-2230. These steps involve: automatically entering the first andsecond account owners into a grand prize contest; optionally performingDDM scanning/decoding/forwarding operations by the computing device ofthe registered account owners, whereby additional reward points and/orbonus points are respectively awarded thereto; and optionally awardingprizes (e.g., cash prizes) to the top N account owners with the greatestnumber of accumulated reward points which have entered the grand prizecontext. N is an integer (e.g., seven).

Although the invention has been illustrated and described with respectto one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modificationswill occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading andunderstanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. Inaddition, while a particular feature of the invention may have beendisclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, suchfeature may be combined with one or more other features of the otherimplementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given orparticular application. Thus, the breadth and scope of the presentinvention should not be limited by any of the above describedembodiments. Rather, the scope of the invention should be defined inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A method for providing a rewards program, the methodcomprising: presenting a video comprising a Digital Dynamic Mark (“DDM”)to a first viewer, the DDM comprising a sequence of active imagepatterns, where each said active image pattern exclusively comprises aplurality of first pattern regions for encoding symbols, at least twopattern regions of said plurality of first pattern regions are renderedwith at least one color other than a defined background color for theimage pattern, said plurality of first pattern regions are arranged in anon-grid like pattern, and each of said plurality of first patternregions has a non-square shape with a single side boundary line directlyabutting a single side boundary line of at least one other first patternregion, whereby no spacing is provided between adjacent ones of saidplurality of first pattern regions; receiving information indicatingthat the first viewer captured an image of the DDM using a computingdevice thereof; and awarding reward points to the first viewer forcapturing said image of the DDM, the reward points redeemable by thefirst viewer for at least one of a plurality of redemption items.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein said sequence of first active imagepatterns is appended to an end of a sequence of second active imagepatterns, each said second active image pattern indicating which symbolof a plurality of symbols is represented by a particular active imagepattern that may possibly be contained in a customer-specific portion ofany one of a plurality of DDMs.
 3. The method according to claim 2,wherein the DDM is presented as a sequential display of said sequence offirst active image patterns and said second active image patterns. 4.The method according to claim 1, wherein an inactive image pattern isappended to an end of said sequence of first active image patterns, saidinactive image pattern comprising a plurality of second pattern regionsall rendered with said defined background color or black.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the DDM is presented as a sequentialdisplay of said sequence of first active image patterns and saidinactive image pattern.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein eachsaid first pattern region has a rectangular shape in which said singleside boundary line directly abuts said single side boundary line of atleast two other first pattern regions.
 7. The method according to claim1, wherein at least two of said plurality of first pattern regions havedifferent shapes.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said imagepattern has an overall shape conforming to a design mark of said firstentity.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said two patternregions are rendered with two different colors other than a definedbackground color for the image pattern.
 10. The method according toclaim 1, wherein any two background pixels are connected by a pathconsisting entirely of background pixels.
 11. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising awarding reward points to each of aplurality of individuals for registering with the rewards program. 12.The method according to claim 11, wherein at least a first individual ofsaid plurality of individuals is a follower of at least a secondindividual of said plurality of individuals on a social media site. 13.A method for using a Digital Dynamic Mark (“DDM”) to obtain rewardpoints, comprising: capturing a first DDM being presenting along with oras a first video using a video camera of a computing device, said firstDDM comprising a sequence of first active image patterns each encoding arespective one of a plurality of symbols uniquely identifying at least afirst entity, where each of said first active image patterns exclusivelycomprises a plurality of first pattern regions for encoding symbols, atleast two pattern regions of said plurality of first pattern regions arerendered with at least one color other than a defined background colorfor the first active image patterns, said plurality of first patternregions are arranged in a non-grid like pattern, and each of saidplurality of first pattern regions has a non-square shape with a singleside boundary line directly abutting a single side boundary line of atleast one other first pattern region, whereby no spacing is providedbetween adjacent ones of said plurality of first pattern regions;decoding by said computing device said first DDM to obtain a sequence ofdecoded symbols; and communicating said sequence of decoded symbols fromsaid computing device to a remote computing device whereat at least onefirst point of said reward points is awarded to an individual associatedwith the computing device for capturing said first DDM using said videocamera.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said first DDMfurther comprises a sequence of second active image patterns indicatingwhich symbol of a plurality of symbols is represented by a particularactive image pattern that may possibly be contained in acustomer-specific portion of any one of a plurality of DDMs.
 15. Themethod according to claim 13, wherein said first DDM further comprisesan inactive image pattern comprising a plurality of second patternregions all rendered with said defined background color or black. 16.The method according to claim 13, wherein each said first pattern regionhas a rectangular shape in which said single side boundary line directlyabuts said single side boundary line of at least two other first patternregions.
 17. The method according to claim 13, wherein at least two ofsaid plurality of first pattern regions have different shapes.
 18. Themethod according to claim 13, wherein each of said first active imagepatterns has an overall shape conforming to a design mark of said firstentity.
 19. The method according to claim 13, wherein at least onesecond point of said reward points is awarded to said individual inresponse to said individual's registration with a rewards program. 20.The method according to claim 19, wherein at least one third point ofsaid reward points is awarded to a follower of said individual on asocial media site for said follower's registration with said rewardsprogram.